The relationship between lecturers' loci of control, job satisfaction and teaching approaches

[摘要] English: The main purpose of this study was to determine whether a significant relationship existed between job satisfaction, locus of control, and teaching approach. The study was executed by means of a quantitative, non-experimental, multivariate survey-type research design to test the hypotheses regarding the stated relationships.To interpret the results of the study univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. Descriptive statistics as well as inferential statistics were used to describe the confounding variables, independent variables and dependent variable.Contradictions to the stated hypotheses are present in this research. The analysis of the relationship between teaching approach and job satisfaction indicates that lecturers with high job satisfaction, namely intrinsic satisfaction, employ a surface approach to teaching. No theory or research could be found to substantiate this finding. An inverse correlation also exists between locus of control and job satisfaction which indicates that the respondents with an external locus of control experience high job satisfaction. This phenomenon is unclear. The psycho-social backgrounds of the Black lecturers are significantly more adverse than that of the White lecturers. And much of the interpretations of the results are focused on the more adverse psycho-social background situation of the Black lecturers who form the majority of the study.Although the lecturers of Ikhala FET College experience high job satisfaction, they do not have an established locus of control, nor do they apply deep teaching. The former statement was deduced from the poor reliability of the scale (Cronbach's Alpha = X). The conclusion was reached that this result might be attributed to weak psycho-social background factors and circumstances of the Black lecturers while growing up under a non-democratic government. Their present life situation is also significantly more adverse than that of the White group. There is the possibility of a relationship between locus of control, job satisfaction and teaching approach, but this research study was unable to confirm it.

[发布机构] University of the Free State